EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J., 3 November 2004 — Chad Pennington threw three touchdown passes to lead the New York Jets to a 41-14 victory over the Miami Dolphins at Giants Stadium.
Pennington finished 11-of-19 passing for 189 yards, while Curtis Martin rushed 19 times for 115 yards and a touchdown. Wayne Chrebet, Justin McCareins and Chris Baker each had a reception for a score for the Jets, (6-1), who rebounded from a loss to New England to move into a tie with the Patriots for first place in the AFC East.
LaMont Jordan carried a career-high 14 times for 115 yards and a touchdown in the rout, as the Jets had two players rush for 100 yards for the first time since Sept. 28, 1975 when John Riggins and Carl Garrett accomplished the feat against Kansas City.
Randy McMichael had seven receptions, including one for a touchdown, for 87 yards in a losing effort. Jay Fiedler completed 20-of-41 for 218 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions for Miami (1-7).
The Jets took advantage of a turnover by Miami to open the scoring midway through the first quarter. Fiedler completed a pass to Donald Lee near midfield, but Eric Barton knocked the ball loose and Reggie Tongue recovered to give New York possession at its own 48. New York needed just three plays, as Pennington found Chrebet alone behind the Miami defense for a 35-yard scoring play that gave the Jets a 7-0 lead with 7:26 to play in the first quarter.
Miami began a drive at its own nine with 8:45 left in the first half and marched 91 yards on eight plays to tie the contest. Fiedler completed four passes to McMichael on the march, including a 21-yard strike for a score to tie the game at 7-7 with 4:35 left in the second quarter.
New York answered with 10 points in a span of 1:07 to take a 17-7 lead into the locker room. On the possession after the Dolphins’ touchdown, Pennington needed just six plays to regain the lead. On first down from the Dolphins’ 27-yard line, Miami cornerback Sam Madison stumbled and fell trying to cover McCareins. Pennington delivered the ball to the wide receiver at the three and McCareins was able to reach the goal line before stepping out of bounds for a 14-7 lead.
After the Dolphins went three-and-out, New York took over at its own 30 with 20 seconds to go before halftime. Martin scampered for 12 yards and Pennington completed a pass to McCareins for 21 yards, as Jets quickly moved inside Jets’ territory. After a six-yard completion to Chrebet, Doug Brien banged in a 49- yard field goal off the right upright as time expired to give New York a 10- point lead at the break.
Martin capped a nine-play, 65-yard drive with a 25-yard run to give the Jets a 24-7 lead early in the third quarter. Martin beat the defense around the right side and scored on third-and-nine play.
Pennington capped a nine-play, 94-yard drive with a one-yard completion to Baker in the back of the end zone to give New York a 31-7 lead with 2:10 remaining in the third quarter.
Vikings Giving Thought to Resting Moss This Week
In Eden Prairie, Minnesota’s Randy Moss might miss his first career game because of a lingering right hamstring strain that hasn’t gotten worse - but isn’t getting a whole lot better.
The Vikings will decide later this week whether or not they should rest their All-Pro receiver at Indianapolis.
Since being hurt before halftime of Minnesota’s game at New Orleans on Oct. 17, Moss has been limited to just 11 snaps over the last 10 quarters.
Though he leads the team with eight touchdown catches and his consecutive games streak remains alive at 103, he’s gone the last two games without a reception.
